Log: For A Good Cause
Winter Park: Safehouse PUBLIC(#427RJ) The basement of Winter Park is a huge one, with polished cement floors stained in a marbled, warm brown. Outfitted as a safehouse, it has any number of amenities: as you enter through the door, you find a hallway to your left, routing around to a meditation room, the gym, and a reinforced training room. Other rooms to your left are six bedrooms to outfit cubs and drifters, two bathrooms, and an infirmary outfitted for all manner of injuries. To your right is a sealed door to the armory, the laundry room, a kitchen and a dining area. In the far corner of the room is a lounge, complete with a big TV, video games, and all manner of donated books to keep people entertained. There's also a pool table, as well as a foozball table down there. Characters: Rena and Jericho It's later in the afternoon when Jericho finally gets back to the Safehouse. First place he heads for is the kitchen, looking for anything edible and settling for some cheesy crackers. He's in a lot less pain now, since he was finally able to spend a night or so really healing. "There's some lunch meat hidden in the back of the fridge. Behind the eggs." Rena's voice comes suddenly out of nowhere. Or rather, it comes from the direction of the lounge. Moments later, there is a soft rustling as she yawns and sits up from where she was lying on the couch, stretching and running a hand through her hair. Jericho startles just a little at the sound of her voice, and then chuckles. "Damn. Couple sleepless nights, and I'm losin' my edge. Your day been okay?" He sets the crackers aside and opens the fridge to hunt for the meat. "Would you like a sandwich?" Rena rubs the back of her neck, yawning again. "You're not the only one," she replies, before nodding. "Sure, that sounds good." She takes a moment to re-arrange her sweater and push herself into a stand, before heading over to the kitchen. "How are you feeling?" Jericho gets out the lunch meat and other sandwich fixings before looking around for the bread. "You're not allergic to anything, are you? And what soda do ya like?" he asks. He wrinkles his nose at her question. "Been better. Told Sarah a bit of what happened. Not exactly what, but the gist. So she wasn't too upset 'bout me being away." "Nope. At least, not that I know of," Rena replies with a grin, slipping into a stool by the counter and leaning her head on her hand. "And ... strawberry? If not, something decafinated, please." After listening to the bit about Sarah, she asks, "How did she respond?" Jericho eyes her at the strawberry choice, then digs around until he finds, "Will strawberry-kiwi work?" He sets the can on the counter near her, and then starts making the sandwiches. He piles lunch meat, cheese, and cucumber slices onto wheat bread, places one on a plate with some cheesy crackers, and sets that near her, too. "She... was sympathetic to Lena's situation." His tone belies that a little as he finishes making his own sandwich. "What, you don't take me as a strawberry kind of girl?" Rena asks after that silence. "And yes, that'll be fine." Her fingers reach out to find the plate, scooping up a cracker to nibble on, before offering a sympathetic smile, but all that she offers for the moment is a quiet 'mmm' and then, "How is Sarah doing?" "Nah, I figure that fits you just fine," says Jericho, smiling. "It's just not the usual request. Most'd go for a name brand or somethin'." He grabs a ginger ale for himself before scooting a stool over, sitting across from her. "I don't know. Some days she seems a little better, and the next it feels like day one all over again." He takes a grumpy bite of his sandwich. "I'm not sure who to ask for help. Rommy seemed preoccupied when we spoke; Dead... would frighten her. Wish I'd been a healer and could've healed her scars. Least then she wouldn't have the constant reminder." Rena smiles at that appraisal. "Sometimes the unusual the most fitting," She replies, nibbling on another cracker. "Well, when you think the time is right, I'd be happy to talk with her. At least, maybe then she'll have someone else to talk to." Her brows knit slightly, before she asks, "Did you ever try and find a healer?" Jericho nods to Rena. "Anytime now'd be a good time. I just ask that I have some warning, so that I can be around. I'm working on this one job, so will be busy off and on in the evenings, depending on how it goes." He looks a touch guilty at her last question, and takes a drink of his soda before answering. "Was just me and Sarah until we came here. This sounded like a good place to look." "Sure," Rena agrees, taking a moment to ponder as she takes a bite of her sandwich. "What about thursday, will you be busy then?" The woman gives a soft frown, before nodding. "Well ..." She replies. "Maybe you will find someone yet." "Doubtful," says Jericho with a shake of his head. "The group I'm trying to get in with doesn't meet then. So- That still leaves us with now, unless you've something else: We could get started on your lessons after we eat." Hesitation is written clearly on Rena's features, before she finally asks, tone cautious, "What kind of group ... if you don't mind my asking?" He has mentioned it twice, now, after all. That makes it fare game, right? At the latter suggestion, the young woman laughs. "Aren't you supposed to wait 30 minutes after eating before doing something like that? "Poker," says Jericho brightly. "It's for a good cause. Just no telling David what I'm up to, alright?" He'd wink at her, but... He chuckles and picks up one of his own crackers. "I guess we could wait. But you should know that your enemy won't. They know when we're most vulnerable: post-supper. I've heard a part of their training includes swimming right after lunch, too." "Uh-huh," Rena replies, rather noncommitally, a doubtful expression on her features. "I suppose your dirty little secret is safe with me, for now." The Kin smiles. Oh, but what's this? Jericho, you have actually caused Rena to giggle. The young woman lifts a hand to cover her mouth, swallowing the bite of sandwhich she'd taken. "Well, in that case ... I guess we should." Jericho can't help but laugh a little himself as he actually succeeds in amusing her. "That's the spirit," he says, his smile audible in his voice. "As for the game... It's really what I know. My dad practically raised me on card games, and it's stuck with me ever since. Guess I love the thrill. And I'm good at it." "Well, as long as you're /good/ at it," Rena muses. "My mother forbade card games in our house, at least when my uncles were around. Something about tempers and unsportsman-like behavior. I just can't imagine -why-." She takes a sip of her soda, finishing off the rest of the crackers on her plate. Jericho chuckles. "I'm not sure I blame here. There's a time and place for it, especially when tempers are involved. There's a reason I keep my gambling to the lower moons, afterall. My old Sept went back and forth 'bout whether it was a bad habit or a convenient way to make them some quick cash." Rena smiles, giving a firm nod of her head. "Agreed." She gives a contented sigh, resting a hand lightly on her stomach. One thing's for sure. Nobody's ever going to go hungry in this safehouse. "Where was your old Sept, Jericho?" "Nowhere spectacular," answers Jericho, in a tone that says she's not going to get much more than that from him. "All finished?" he asks, noting her gesture, and he gets up to clear her plate. "Guess that means the training starts. There's a room here that'll be perfect for it. They really thought this safehouse through." "Yes," Rena replies. "That was really good, thank you. Do you need help with the dishes?" She pushes herself slowly into a stand, slipping out of her chair, running her thumb over the knuckles of her other hand. "And, Jericho ... you will be careful with my hands, right? They're how I make my living." "Nah, I can handle the dishes later," says Jericho. After setting them aside, her turns to face her, reaching out to take her hands gently into his own. "You won't even break a nail," he promises, lifting her hand to kiss it before releasing her. "On second thought, I have some ideas that might benefit you more. And be easier to learn." He offers out an arm to guide her towards the training area. Rena stands up a little straighter at Jericho's gesture, a faint touch of color rising to her cheeks. But it only seems to catch her off guard of a second, before she brushes it off with a laugh. "I appreciate your reassurance." She rests her free hand on his arm as they move toward the training area. "What do you have in mind?" "The basics," says Jericho. "I think that's a good place to start. And if you want to learn more, we can go from there. But there's some basics you should learn first to help protect yourself, and your hands." He pauses in his steps. "Like... Make a fist for me? Like you're going to punch someone." Rena pauses along with Jericho, listening to his words. "Okay," she says, and she removes her hand from his in order to curl the fingers of her right hand up into a ball. Her whole arm tightens with the motion and, surprisingly, the young woman pretty nice muscle tone. That's what 3-4 hours a day of repetitive motion will do for a gal. Jericho lifts his brows as that muscle is revealed. Who knew? He doesn't comment, though, and reaches to take her hand. "Alright, what you want to do is make sure your thumb is tucked like this, but not /under/ your fingers. That'll help keep it from getting injured. And when you hit, try to do so with these knuckles," he instructs, brushing his thumb over her first two knuckles. "And don't lock your arm entirely or bend your wrist." Rena allows Jerico to maneuver her hand as he talks, trying to memorize the position. After he's finished, she lets her hand relax and shakes out her first before trying to replicate what he told her."Like this? Out of curiosity, why is it those first two?" "Well, you'd have to turn your fist to hit with the others," says Jericho. "The idea's to hit with your arm as straight as possible, so that your hand and wrist is supported by your arm." Rena lets out a nervous laugh at that. "Oh, of course. That makes sense." She gives a little shake of her head. Duh. Jericho may need to prepare himself for a long road ahead. Jericho chuckles and opens the door to the training area before ushering her inside. "A lot of combat's about good sense. It just sounds more intimidating than that. So, let's say you're walking home from cello lessons, and someone walks up and grabs your wrist like this." He grabs her left wrist, gently, but firmly. "What would you do?" Rena steps into the training area, pausing in the new space. "I didn't realize this was even here. Is it completely open in here? Nothing to trip on?" She asks. Brows knitting slightly, she considers the question, tugging slightly on her wrist. "Ask who it was?" A sheepish laugh is given as she says that. "Scream?" Jericho takes a look around the room at her question. "It's pretty clear. There's some things along the walls, punching bags and the like, but for the most part, it's clear." At her responses, he can't help but laugh a little himself. "Alright, I have to say, anyone that walks up to a lone blind person and grabs them deserves what they get, eh? The weakest link in this grab is the finger and thumb. You want to pull your arm back against that point. See? Depending on the strength of the other person, might kick or step on their foot first, to help loosen their grip." Rena laughs at that. "/Usually/ people don't startle me because I hear them. And, well, you never know. They could be trying to keep me from walking into something." She tugs her arm back as indicated. "Like this?" "Yeah, well, there's now three or four of you girls that have attracted unwanted attention," says Jericho. "I'm just saying, now's a good time to be extra cautious. And yeah, like that. So this is what I'm thinkin'. I'll teach you how to get out of some common grabs, chokes, and holds. That sound good to you? And I got you some mace. I figure, with you, our tactic will be getting away and running to the nearest public area. No one likes witnesses." Rena frowns at the mention of the other girls, taking a hand back through her hair. "You're right. It is a good idea. At least, I'd rather not the rest of you have to worry too much about me, so anything I can learn that you think will help ..." She pauses, giving a faint laugh. "Running isn't always that easy for me, I'll remind you. You know, I was wondering if it would be possible to have some kind of emergency signal. Like those commercials they have for the old ladies who can't get up from the bathroom floor." Jericho blinks at her last words. "Huh. I can certainly look into it. I bet it's something that they could make over at Grey Inc. Maybe. I'll talk to David. In the meantime, I'll teach you what I can. And hopefully, you'll never have to use any of it." Category:Logs